Chapter 2 - The Legend of the 10-Foot White Man

The arrival of three students from the University of Michigan was relatively big news for the people at the Tianjin CDC. But the news of an American standing almost 2 meters tall was bound to quickly spread around the neighborhood as well. At around 6’3”, Keith was never what a typical American would consider an extraordinarily tall person; but he would soon come to realize that in addition to his white skin-color, he might just be too big for China. People would surely recount the story of how they had come face-to-face with this gigantic being from half-way across the world and lived to tell of it.

After getting settled into his new penthouse apartment, Keith’s internship in the Department of Communicable Diseases began with multiple field trips to learn about the disease control system in China. During the first few weeks, he was taken to a local CDC and to a clinic accompanying the TJCDC facility to examine their rabies control procedures. He was told that the department was currently trying to ensure that universal practices were being followed in order to combat the disease. Surprisingly, rabies is a huge problem in Tianjin. Between the three clinics that he was able to travel to, apparently between 110-130 patients are seen per day for rabies wound care and vaccination. Finding it hard to believe, considering the relatively few cases found in the US, Keith thought that something was lost in the translation. Given that a rabies vaccination requires 5 inoculations, he was hoping that “110-130” referred to the number of shots given for rabies on that day rather than the number of actual cases. While he pondered this question, he was sure of one thing – wherever he went, his every move was being captured on camera as if he were Brad Pitt and his Chinese co-workers were the paparazzi trying to document his time there.

Xu Wenti, one of the exchange scholars from China who had gone to the University of Michigan the previous semester, was one of Keith’s translators in the Communicable Diseases Department. She would bring him pictures taken during their trips, but he could not help but laugh at the photos. Maybe it was the angle the pictures were being taken at, or that he always seemed be standing next to his shorter co-workers, but the shots always made him look so much taller than he actually was. It would become a recurring joke with Jeff and Kellie that it was as if he was Godzilla and that he should just walk around with his arms flailing wildly, yelling “RAWR!” as he walked down the street. This feeling of Godzilla-ness was no more apparent than on a routine trip to Wal-Mart.

As the three students strolled through the aisles of strange snack foods and even stranger assortments of meat products, they heard the faint sounds of familiar American songs playing through the speakers. Singing along to Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” and Mariah Carey’s “Hero” the rhythmic beats of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” gave them inspiration. Tossing tons of packages of foreign cookies and snacks into their carts, one by one they began to snap in unison (a la music video) until they were in a single line, “rocking out” as Kellie would say, down the center aisle. As if they didn’t stick out enough in this place, they danced through the entire chorus until they reached the electronics department. Only somewhat embarrassed, they stopped and began to look through the rows and rows of shoes. A few minutes later, Kellie suddenly signaled the two boys to come over to the women’s section. It had seemed that a little boy, no older than 12, was staring at Kellie in disbelief because he had probably never seen a Caucasian person before. But out of nowhere, Keith came around the corner and the boy’s jaw literally dropped and stayed open for at least 5 minutes. The boy’s head turned back and forth, not just a double-take but almost a ten-take, looking around in disbelief as if to say “Is anybody else seeing this?!” This would be one of many Godzilla sightings that would be made in the months to come.

Despite that hilarious, yet somewhat awkward situation, Keith tried to return to work as normal. His next project would focus on one of the largest outbreaks in China of Hand-Foot-and Mouth Disease, a viral disease associated with blisters on the hands, feet, and mouth as well as fever and other mild symptoms mostly found in children. Jeff accompanied him to the Tanggu district (a business district known for its extremely fast development) for visits to hospitals and public and private schools. Ironically in China, private schools are for the economically disadvantaged students. Their educational quality is not as good as the public schools, which can be very prestigious. This is a result of the socialism vs capitalism paradigm. Migrant laborers, or "float" populations, do not have access to government services outside of their native region. This relegates them to low-cost, private schools as their children are not allowed to enroll in the public schools of the area that their parents work in. After Godzilla had devoured some children, he and Jeff returned to the office after a long but interesting day of work.

Though the legend of Keith-zilla and the Americans would spread far and wide, do not be alarmed… He does have a weakness in case you are ever in need. After weeks of rabies investigation, Keith developed a fear of all dogs in China. Whether they were small Pomeranians, goofy looking pugs, on a leash, or roaming freely, they say that despite his gargantuan stature and intimidating American features, Keith can still be found to quickly run off when faced with the terrifying and utterly horrific beings known only as… puppies!

The Wenchuan Earthquake

Though the experience of starting a new job has been just as overwhelming as the adjustments to living in a different country, our three protagonists find themselves with a mix of emotions. Let's venture into their minds and see what they are thinking, shall we?

KELLIE - Much of the information that we know about the earthquake comes from our one English TV channel, CCTV. The news segments often show graphic pictures of the devastation and rescues. Experts are interviewed on the progress of aide efforts and personal stories of loss are told. They are heart-breaking stories and images. But I know the Chinese are strong and resilient people. It is difficult to fully comprehend the magnitude of this tragedy; we are quite far removed from it here in Tianjin. And though it denominates table conversations and all news broadcasts, it is difficult to transcend the language barrier. Our co-workers at the TJCDC are very willing to answer questions about it when we ask. Many people at the CDC went to university in Sichuan province. Several people from the CDC also visited Chengdu last year. So the CDC has many ties to that area. The people here, like all over China, are very eager to do their part to help with the aide and relief efforts. Last week one rescue team was dispatched and tomorrow (Thursday, May 22) morning a group of 20 more TJCDC workers will also do their part to help the people there. Their main objectives will be to help prevent the spread of disease. So far there have been no reports of disease outbreaks. More people from the CDC will go to Sichuan if and when needed. Everyone I have talked to said they volunteered to go help; people are eager and proud to do what they can for the relief efforts.

Because of all the current earthquake coverage, there have been many references to the earthquake that took place in 1976 in northeast China, not far from Beijing and Tianjin. The epicenter was in a city named Tangshan in the Hebei province. The city and much of the surrounding area was completely destroyed. Conflicting reports exist on the exact death toll, numbers range from 240,000 to 750,000, with even more people suffering from injuries and not to mention the loss of homes and personal possessions. In Tianjin, there is a monument dedicated to this tragic event. On our way back from dinner last night, we drove by the monument. Many people were gathered there and people placed flowers and other items in remembrance of this event and the earthquake in Sichuan. My thoughts are with our CDC’s rescue teams as they travel to Sichuan. But mostly I think of the people of Sichuan province and the people of Wenchuan, the site of the earthquake epicenter.

KEITH - The earthquake in Sichuan has been a pretty huge ordeal. It happened on the first day that we were in China and we were at meetings and such all day. When I finally got home and checked my email it was scary to see a myriad of messages from people I haven't talked to in years making sure that I was OK. Thankfully, Tianjin is a very long distance from the center of the quake and very few people felt it. Since then, it has absolutely dominated all news and talk within China, similar to the events of September 11th or Hurricane Katrina in the US. The images that we are seeing are pretty devastating, but the country's response has been pretty spectacular. Every TV channel shows a different telethon or images of citizens lined up do drop money in the donation box. Moreover, every single hospital or CDC that I visit immediately points out members that will soon be headed to the region to help with recovery and disease management efforts. The most moving part of the situation was on Monday, when the entire staff lined up at 2:28 pm (The number 8 has a special significance here) to have the Chinese equivalent of a moment of silence. At that time, individual horns began sounding in the street and a PA system that the CDC had set up started sounding. The sound grew into a near deafening concerto of car horns until every single horn was sounding. With the traffic here being as busy as it is, it was a pretty spectacular sensation. As the minute of recognition waned, people began filing back into their offices. Many people teared up and a couple of staff members came up and shook our hands. They seemed genuinely thankful for our recognition of their hardships. It is odd that cross-cultural differences seem to only fully be overcome in the wake of great tragedy, but it is a beautiful thing to see every nation in the world stand behind one.

JEFF - Even though it’s been more than a week since it happened, the images of the destruction from the earthquake still stick with me. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of China, especially those in the Sichuan province, but it’s a different feeling being a foreigner trying to piece together my thoughts on the situation. It makes me wonder what immigrants or other visitors to the US felt during 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina. It’s a little strange to realize that more often than not, tragedies usually bring people together; but no matter what nationality you are, compassion is a universal trait.
One of the things that surprised me the most about the Wenchuan earthquake was how quickly the government responded. The news was full of stories and montages about the efforts made my Chinese army, local people donating blood or providing support, and the various local CDC’s trying to prevent disease outbreaks and to ensure safe living conditions for the many displaced people. It was amazing to hear about the many miraculous stories of people surviving up to 195 hours trapped under rubble. And although I’m not sure what I thought I would see, the news has been a lot more open with their communication to the public than I expected.

The national three days of morning was also a moving thing to witness. Hearing the horns blast at 2:28pm, and realizing that this kind of thing was going on throughout the country was incredible. Everyone around me was moved by the ceremony, and talking to my Chinese co-workers, I could sense their eagerness to go and help out in Sichuan despite the dangerous conditions. Even after over 100 aftershocks, many with a magnitude over 5, every person in my department is hoping that they will be next to be sent to the epicenter. They told us a phrase that kind of captures this ideal à If your boss or superior asks you if you are tired, you are to respond (excuse the “spelling”): “Wei ren min fu wu” which means “I am ready to serve!”

CSEP at TJCDC 2008: The Novel

Chapter 1 – The First Week in China… Ni-hao from Tianjin!

As the three young Americans found themselves lethargically emerging from the 18 hour plane ride from Detroit to Beijing, they were eagerly greeted by Du Ying, the young woman in the HR department in charge of making sure they had arrived safely. After a week of uncertainty about whether or not their visas would come through, they had finally arrived! Jeff, Keith, and Kellie quietly spoke to one another in the backseat of the car as they drove another 2 hours to the city of Tianjin. By the time they had reached Kellie’s apartment (formerly Julie V’s place) it was already 1:30am. Leaving Kellie all alone for the night, Keith and Jeff nervously said good-bye, noticing the slight glimmer of apprehension in her eyes. The area was of course safe, but at 2 in the morning, the dark alleyways gave the neighborhood an unwarranted, yet scary feel.

The two boys then journeyed to the Tianjin CDC to find out where they were going to live. As they made their way into the “gated community” of high-rise buildings across from the TJCDC, they kept telling themselves that this could not possibly be where they were going to spend the next three months of their lives.

Even as Du Ying pressed button 21 on the elevator (the top floor!), the two men could not help but laugh a little at how ridiculous it was that they were going to be living in this brand new penthouse, especially seeing as that most of the other apartments in the building were not even completed yet. Little did they know that there was more to come from this amazing apartment – complete with two bedrooms, a balcony, a bidet in the bathroom, a chez lounge, and blue neon lights along the ceiling just to name a few things. They thought to themselves, “What is this, MTV Cribs: Tianjin?!” As absurd as they felt about living in a place 10x nicer than their apartments in Ann Arbor, they had to try and get at least of few hours of sleep before the Tianjin CDC-University of Michigan Forum on Public Health Practice.

Running off of mostly adrenalin, the three “scholars” sat through many interesting presentations on the current state of health in Tianjin. Together with Dr. Warner, Dr. Boulton, and Director Wang (from the TJCDC), they were taken on a tour of the building and the various laboratories. They were then whisked off to where they would be working for the summer – a corner office on the 4th floor surrounded with windows and a view of their penthouse in building #8! Again, Team Ber-Ger, as they liked to refer to themselves (which is a Chinese slang-word meaning ‘interesting’) could not help but feel almost guilty at how nice their new work area was. Thank goodness they had been accepted into the Chinese Scholar Exchange Program Summer Internship through the Office of Public Health Practice. Otherwise, who knows where they would be working at now? Kellie would be starting out in the Institute of Health Education, Keith would be working in the Institute of Communicable Diseases, and Jeff would be spending the first half of his internship in the Institute of HIV/AIDS/STIs Control and Prevention. But before they began their respective internships, they were glad to hear that they would be given the next day off to adjust to their new surroundings. And what could be more fun and help them settle in to China on their day off then a trip to Wal-Mart?!

Wal-Mart’s are difficult enough to navigate in the states, but this first trip of MANY was a bit overwhelming. Team Ber-Ger was welcomed by stares from workers and shoppers alike as they made their way through aisles of strange meats, babies oddly being lifted above trash cans in order to pee, and a number of other food products that they could barely make out. Even though they were concerned about what they would be eating for dinner in the next couple of days, there were still more pressing issues going on around the country that they slowly began to hear about.

Little did they know that during the Forum on Public Health, a massive earthquake hit the Wenchuan Province in central China. Luckily they were nowhere near the disaster; but having only one English TV channel, it was difficult for them to learn anymore about the incident than what was already presented in the media. The death toll kept rising, and the devastating pictures kept flashing on the news, and all they could do was hope for the best for those affected by this tragedy. As concerned as they were, and though they could tell their Chinese counterparts often spoke about it, the language barrier prevented them from truly getting a local perspective on the terrible disaster. That was one aspect of their trip that they wished they could have been more involved in or learned more about at the time, but the images of those trapped as well as those being saved would stay in their minds. It was truly amazing how quickly the relief efforts were being coordinated. They even learned that the TJCDC would be sending a team to the epicenter for disaster relief. All the while, the three Americans anxiously awaited their first official day at work...